1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel transporting hose which is suitably used in a fuel pipe system of an automobile, for transporting a liquid such as gasoline or a gas.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There are known various kinds of hoses made of various materials, for use in a fuel pipe system of an automobile or other vehicle. Such a hose may be used as a fuel pipe itself or as a connector for connecting fuel pipes. For example, there is known a hose which consists of a resin tube made of a fluorine-contained resin, and a reinforcing layer formed by braiding a metallic wire on the outer circumferential surface of the resin tube.
The above type of the hose provides excellent resistance to deformation due to appropriate rigidity of the fluorine-contained resin used therein, and also provides high degrees of resistance to sour gasoline and gasoline impermeability. Further, this type of hose with a reinforcing layer in the form of the braided wire exhibits sufficiently high wear resistance and shock resistance. In some cases, the thickness of the resin tube is reduced so as to reduce the amount of expensive fluorine-contained resin to be used, which leads to a reduced cost of manufacturing of the hose. However, the hose with the thin resin tube may be undesirably deformed when supply of gasoline through the hose is temporarily stopped with a result of the inside of the hose being evacuated or subjected to negative pressure.
The fuel transporting hose of the above type has another problem. Namely, the inner wall of the hose tends to be electrically charged, due to static electricity caused by friction between the inner wall and a fuel liquid such as gasoline. If a voltage higher than a given level appears across the hose, a spark may take place between the hose and metallic parts of an automobile body supporting the hose, and the spark may form holes through the hose, or may cause the fuel to take fire. Thus, the hose is unsatisfactory in its resistance to firing.